When it tells you what kind of car you can and can’t have.
The NASA Budget
Jeff Foust has the numbers on the deal worked out late last week. This is depressing:
In exploration, the CR directs NASA to spend at least $1.2 billion on the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and $1.8 billion on the Space Launch System “which shall have a lift capability not less than 130 tons and which shall have an upper stage and other core elements developed simultaneously.”
So NASA is forced to waste almost fifteen percent of its budget on a jobs program that will likely result in another programmatic failure in terms of actually flying anything. It’s also frustrating that the technology request was unfunded, though NASA probably will be able to come up with the money for it somewhere else.
As Major Tom points out in comments:
Griffin gave Ares I/Orion a larger budget (~$3.5B in FY10 rising to $5.5B in FY11 versus $3 billion in FY11) and easier requirements (25-tons versus 130-tons to LEO, ISS servicing versus BEO missions). Yet after five years of trying, Ares I and Orion never got past the lower-stage suborbital test stage. There’s no reason to believe that SLS/MPCV, if constrained to the same technical base, contracts, and workforce, can get a 5x bigger LV and more complex capsule operational in the same time for less money.
But it’s the law!
SpaceX Thoughts
…from Ric Locke.
Yuri’s Night In LA
Griffith Observatory 7:30 – 9:00 PM
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Admission is free
Join us for a very special opportunity to join over 200 events around the world celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of humanity’s first step into the cosmos. Hear Griffith Observatory’s Astronomical Observer, Anthony Cook, describe Yuri Gagarin’s historic 108 minute orbit around the planet and how it still affects us today. Look forward to the future as Virgin Galactic CEO, George Whitesides, describes how space travel might change in the coming 50 years. Meet Yuri’s Night co-founders Loretta Hidalgo-Whitesides and George Whitesides, share your own “where were you?” stories, and take part in this historic, global celebration of people in space.
Wood and Vine 9:00pm – 11:30pm
6280 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
[Via Robin Snelson]
Cis-Lunar Space
A rationale, by Paul Spudis.
Have We Healed?
Today isn’t just a day of space anniversaries. It’s also the sesquicentennial of Fort Sumter. Jim Lacey has some thoughts.
Social Insecurity
The Homer Simpson approach. As Paul notes, the program is both fiscally and morally bankrupt.
Paul Krugman, Rube
And a willful victim of battered voter syndrome.
[Update a few minutes later]
You don’t say…Barack Obama lacks credibility as a leader on spending cuts.
Firefox Crash
I’m running Fedora 14. Firefox just crashed after running a pingtest, so badly that it crashed the entire X session, and I had to log in again. After I did, Firefox wouldn’t run. This is the relevant dump from dmesg:
[1062274.346357] npviewer.bin[1011]: segfault at 0 ip 011bd8d1 sp bf92af30 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1062375.997150] npviewer.bin[28464]: segfault at 418 ip 01062d36 sp bfbacf78 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1062498.325768] npviewer.bin[28520]: segfault at 418 ip 0110dd36 sp bfbce888 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[ea0000+b5f000]
[1371957.400980] npviewer.bin[28552]: segfault at 418 ip 01062d36 sp bf817ed8 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1403459.772959] npviewer.bin[25390]: segfault at 0 ip 011bd8d1 sp bfe2c3a0 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1403521.953639] npviewer.bin[19679]: segfault at b74e10b4 ip 011bd8c3 sp bffd8c50 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1403534.814715] npviewer.bin[19700]: segfault at b74ce0b4 ip 012f58c3 sp bfbb4a60 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[f2d000+b5f000]
[1403650.824521] npviewer.bin[19728]: segfault at b73750b4 ip 011bd8c3 sp bfcea8d0 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1406090.206902] npviewer.bin[19767]: segfault at 0 ip (null) sp bf98d91c error 4 in libcanberra-gtk.so.0.1.6[101000+4000]
[1406298.346733] npviewer.bin[20332]: segfault at b34910ac ip 012ec8e7 sp bfe89810 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[f24000+b5f000]
[1406390.968454] npviewer.bin[20409]: segfault at b73790ac ip 013418e7 sp bfe87630 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[f79000+b5f000]
[1406394.694160] npviewer.bin[20453]: segfault at 0 ip (null) sp bff6e50c error 4 in libcanberra-gtk.so.0.1.6[101000+4000]
[1406482.581431] npviewer.bin[20491]: segfault at b738a0ac ip 011bd8e7 sp bf897d40 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1407389.328409] npviewer.bin[20548]: segfault at b1e9c0b4 ip 011c58c3 sp bff96360 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[dfd000+b5f000]
[1413310.714710] npviewer.bin[20658]: segfault at 0 ip 011bd8d1 sp bfb7c980 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1413487.146169] npviewer.bin[21737]: segfault at 418 ip 01062d36 sp bfa3b328 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1413659.608758] npviewer.bin[21767]: segfault at 30 ip 00e4fdad sp bf913df0 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1413665.509196] npviewer.bin[21825]: segfault at b747a0ac ip 011bd8e7 sp bfd35e50 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1414498.463725] npviewer.bin[21851]: segfault at 0 ip 012f58d1 sp bfb76430 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[f2d000+b5f000]
[1416022.503463] npviewer.bin[22016]: segfault at 418 ip 0119ad36 sp bfaf4a68 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[f2d000+b5f000]
[1416030.061756] npviewer.bin[22354]: segfault at 418 ip 01062d36 sp bfbe9aa8 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1418029.336434] npviewer.bin[22371]: segfault at 0 ip 011bd8d1 sp bfcac160 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1418600.114036] npviewer.bin[22753]: segfault at 418 ip 0119ad36 sp bfc08258 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[f2d000+b5f000]
[1419010.022176] npviewer.bin[22947]: segfault at 418 ip 01062d36 sp bfe620a8 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1419276.583851] npviewer.bin[23002]: segfault at 418 ip 01062d36 sp bfc1a618 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1420339.662730] npviewer.bin[23097]: segfault at 418 ip 01062d36 sp bfd25ff8 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1420721.302191] npviewer.bin[23365]: segfault at 418 ip 01062d36 sp bfc00268 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1420762.291919] npviewer.bin[23423]: segfault at b6ab9888 ip 0125fd0f sp bfee5e70 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1420805.073735] npviewer.bin[23459]: segfault at 418 ip 01062d36 sp bfd4cd98 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1420811.931679] npviewer.bin[23483]: segfault at b6a8d928 ip 0125fd0f sp bfe061e0 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1423898.166306] npviewer.bin[23505]: segfault at 418 ip 01062d36 sp bf8484c8 error 6 in libflashplayer.so[df5000+b5f000]
[1424713.197214] npviewer.bin[24368]: segfault at 0 ip 012f58d1 sp bfda9c10 error 4 in libflashplayer.so[f2d000+b5f000]
[1424726.845856] npviewer.bin[24590]: segfault at 80000000 ip 80000000 sp bf97e5dc error 4
I tried removing firefox and reinstalling, and npviewer isn’t a package. But still no joy. Does anyone have any idea what to do? Maybe reinstall flash?
[Update a while later]
I deleted the .mozilla folder, and it seems to be OK now. It even preserved my tabs.
Another Massachusetts Miracle
In Wisconsin?
It looks like they have momentum with the Supreme Court win.